Children as Actors for Transforming Society

The amazing experience of the Human Library

The amazing experience of the Human Library

Wednesday 29 July was an exciting day at Caux as the Main Hall turned into a Human Library where people were books telling their personal stories of change, which created inspirational energy among the 300 participants. Moreover, a journalist from the French TV channel TF1 filmed the various activities of CATS 2015 (watch the video here).

The concept of the Human Library is that some people become “books” and tell their stories, while other people are “readers” and listen to the people-books. Through sharing their personal stories with one another, the participants connected on a deeper level, which allowed for a common energy and sentiment of solidarity to emerge out of the power of stories.

In a safe environment where people could fully express themselves, the “books” told stories on many themes related to children’s rights and their participation: We are strong, We have rights, We have dreams, We are growing, We do social media, and We want change.

For instance, a boy from Uganda shared his experience learning about issues that affect girls, such as menstruation; a boy from Kosovo talked about his learning of peacebuilding and his experience in a war-torn country as a child; and Susie Morgan spoke about her work at the Council of Europe.

The 300 participants concluded the session by saying what had moved them most, among the inspirational personal stories they had heard, and how they planned to apply some of the learning once back home.